NPSA fights back
The National Patient Safety Agency is fighting back media accusations. They’re not literally fighting, like my favorite mother of eight, Kate, and her soon to be ex-husband, Jon. The NPSA is fighting accusations saying they have endorsed the complete removal of alcohol based hand sanitizer from all clinical areas (see barfblog post: Drunk on Sanitation). In fact, the NPSA advocates the use of alcohol based hand sanitizer, but it should be concentrated in specific areas of the hospital (i.e. patient rooms and clinical areas).
Bad TV, good advice
TLC, the same channel that’s home to the popular show Jon and Kate Plus 8, aired I Didn’t Know I Was Pregnant last night, and I’m embarrassed to say I watched it.
Before commercial breaks the show posed questions to viewers, one of which was: True or false, pregnant women should not consume unpasteurized milk or cheeses? I answered true, and I was correct.
Pregnant women should avoid certain foods including unpasteurized milk, or foods made with it as these foods may contain Listeria, which can cause premature delivery, miscarriage, still birth, or serious health problems in a newborn. In addition to unpasteurized milk, some soft cheeses, luncheon meats, refrigerated smoked seafood and soft serve ice cream should be avoided. A full list is available from the Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, here.
That’s Kate Gosselin, TLC’s ratings booster, right, while pregnant with sextuplets.
Poop on Mushrooms? Sara Snow on Jon and Kate Plus 8
While I was working with the TV on this afternoon, I heard Sara Snow, Television host and Green Goddess, telling Kate Gosselin of Jon and Kate Plus 8 that mushrooms should not be washed. Kate, who is raising her family on organic food believing it will make her young twins and sextuplets healthier and stronger, was clearly put off by Sara’s advice. She said the family doesn’t normally eat mushrooms, but she was willing to follow directions. Sara told her to just wipe off the mushrooms with a damp paper towel.While the stir fry cooked, the dialog was enlightening:
Sara to Kate: “In my opinion, if there’s a little bit of dirt left on there, it’s fine. It’s not gonna hurt anyone.”
Kate to camera: “She taught me how to clean them, which was a little disturbing to me.”
Jon in Kate’s ear: “Fungi!”
Kate to Jon: “There was dirt on them. Active dirt. And she said you don’t wash mushrooms.”
Jon to Kate: “It’s not dirt.”
Kate: “I know that.”
Jon grins: “Poopadoop.”
Kate: “I know. You see. That’s why he doesn’t eat them, he claims.”
Kate to Sara: “I don’t know if I like to eat dirt, Sara.”
Kate to camera: “I was essentially merely just wiping the poop off of them and that concerned me that I didn’t get every last speck.”
Sara responds to Kate: “I let all sorts of things fall into my food and I’m not worried about it.”
Is Sara crazy? Is Kate right? Sara concludes, “By the time it all cooks down you won’t even notice it’s there. I’ll cover it up nicely.”
That’s the point, really. If you’re cooking your mushrooms, you can kill the nasty microbiological matter. But would you pop them in your mouth raw? Neither Sara nor Kate visibly ran to the sink to wash with soap and water after touching the Poopadoop Mushrooms. In the next scene everyone was heading to the table to eat.
